


I Can Never Think of a Clever TItle

by Seasnake



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Era, Kid Fic, M/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6867928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seasnake/pseuds/Seasnake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parents dream of their future children. </p><p> </p><p>Silly self indulgent show, silly self indulgent fanfiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Never Think of a Clever TItle

            Arthur had been so exhausted, and a little tipsy, after his birthday celebration that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows. He found himself in the training grounds. Only the dreamlike lighting, too blue for the sun and too bright for the moon alerted him that it wasn’t reality. For a minute he was alone then a stranger entered the ring.

 

            His opponent was a knight wearing the crest of Camelot and a personal seal of a white dragon he didn’t recognize. Arthur crossed blades with the surprisingly short and small knight. This fighter was as fast as Arthur himself. They danced to the clang of metal for several seconds before Arthur’s distracted mind betrayed him. He was too busy watching and wondering if this was THE dream to pay full attention to his guard. The unknown knight took advantage of his hesitation to knock him to the ground.

 

 “Stop! Stop!” A beautiful voice and its beautiful owner interrupted. Arthur looked up as a dark haired maiden dashed towards the training field. She wore Camelot red skirts that she held out of her way as she ran.

 

“What?” Arthur’s opponent obediently held his attack.

 

“It’s Father.” The girl gracefully knelt beside Arthur and reached for his helmet. He allowed her to lift it off him and run slim fingers through his hair, checking for injury.

 

“What?” the knight repeated as the woman checked on Arthur. He shifted out of his fighting stance to something casual with a confused head tilt.

 

“It’s Father’s birthday and he’s dreaming of us.” The woman, princess, Arthur’s daughter smiled up at who could only be her brother, Arthur’s son. Arthur glanced at his son but couldn’t see any more through the armor so he surveyed the girl crouched beside him.

 

            She was a young woman, perhaps 15. Flawless pale skin, sharp and intelligent blue eyes, sharp eyebrows and straight raven locks tied back in a net. She noticed his gaze and gave him an amused smile. Arthur looked up at his son expectantly but he hadn’t removed his helmet or spoken.

 

“Ygraine,” his daughter said.

 

“That’s your name?” Arthur turned to her happily but couldn’t ask anything before sunlight burned his eyes.

 

            Arthur blinked the sting from his eyes and found himself in his bed.

“Arthur,” Uther acknowledged him when he entered the hall for breakfast. He waited until Arthur sat down before continuing. “Did you dream?”

 

“Yes, Father, I did.” Morgana looked up with interest. She’d been having the dreams since her own eighteenth year. She’d told Uther that she’d seen two boys, which made him happy. But she later admitted to Arthur that sometimes when she heard the voices she thought one might be her lover rather than her son.

 

“What did you see?”

 

“I will have two children.” Arthur declared proudly. “A son and a daughter.” He smiled as the others gave him their undivided attention. “I dreamed of sparring with my son while my daughter watched.” Not quite what happened but a better story.

 

“What did they look like?” Uther leaned forward.

 

“My son was in armor, he never took off his helmet. My daughter,” he smiled at the memory, “she will be beautiful and named after my mother.” As he expected Uther gave this last statement pause but quickly recovered.

 

“The color of her hair, eyes?” He prompted.

 

“Black hair, blue eyes.” Arthur answered. Uther nodded then went back to his breakfast. Arthur looked to Morgana for clarification. She smirked.

 

“A blonde man and a blonde woman can not have a dark haired child. Congratulations, your future queen will be a dark haired, fair eyed princess.” She said the last part with a  glare at Uther, no doubt arguing over his desire to arrange marriages for both her and Arthur.

 

“Someone with your coloring, then.” Arthur teased to prevent a fight.

 

“Hah, you wish,” she scoffed and successfully stopped looking at Uther.

 

            The future was uncertain, only sorcerers could know what was to come, and even they didn’t always get it right. The visions weren’t magic, Uther stressed that point, almost everyone had visions and only the old religion had magic. The visions showed the most likely future, were subject to change, often vague. There were two ways to strengthen them, magic and a species of mushroom. But magic was illegal and said to be tampering with fate, and the mushroom brew was called a hallucinogen by naysayers.

 

            But even the loudest voices could disappear in an instant. Arthur had once seen knight burst into tears while on horseback. He’d recovered and done his job that day but knew that his wife had died and the children he’d been locking forward to would no longer be.

 

            When destiny did work itself out, children would dream of their parents. Arthur had dreamed of his mother before. He knew her smile and laugh even though they’d never met in person. When he was fifteen he dreamed of watching his father in battle, shouting in warning when an enemy attacked him from behind. Latter when he asked, Uther beamed and told him he remembered hearing Arthur’s voice during that battle. The reach across time could hurt the brain of the best scholar.

 

            Arthur was so excited to dream the next day that he kept himself awake with nerves. When his next dream finally came he found himself in a field outside the citadel. The sound of metal on metal got his attention and drew him to two figures sparing. His daughter wore a blue silk gown and his son only his mail and red tunic. His son also had black hair, cut short but still wild in the morning breeze.

 

“You’re getting slow, Little Sister.” The knight laughed as he parried a sword swing from the princess. His voice was higher pitched than Arthur expected, he must be large for his age.

 

“I’m thinking about something else.”

 

“You should be thinking about me.” He knocked her sword to the side then slide stepped close enough to hit her hard in the torso with his shield. She grunted and fell to the grass. With a good natured laugh, the knight sheathed his weapon and offered her a hand up. Arthur walked closer as the girl got to her feet. “There you go,” the knight smiled and dusted off her skirts. “You’re going to stain one of your fine dresses again.”

 

“I wanted to look nice,” she smiled at Arthur. The knight noticed her gaze and turned to look.

 

“Father?”

 

“Of course.” The girl stepped forward and offered Arthur a hug which he accepted.

 

“He’s awfully clear, I thought these dreams were supposed to be vague,” Arthur’s son sounded upset about this for some reason.

 

“I’m the best at what I do,” she said cryptically then smiled at Arthur. “Welcome, Father. My name’s Argante and this is my big sister, Ygraine.”

 

“What?” Arthur hadn’t expected that. He took another look at the knight/woman. In just her mail he could recognize feminine curves when he looked for them. “You’re a girl?”

 

“Ugh,” Ygraine, the knight, groaned. “If you want to spend your night listening to this, go ahead, but I won’t.” She drew her sword and to Arthur’s horror stabbed herself in the gut.

 

“Ygraine,” Argante sighed. “It’s alright.” She noticed Arthur’s concern. “Dying in a dream will wake you up.” Arthur nodded, relieved it was something that simple. “She’s going to be sleep deprived and ornery all tomorrow.” She shook her head.

 

            “She fights like a knight,” Arthur couldn’t get over what he’d seen.

 

“She is a knight, you knighted her yourself.”

 

“Is that... that’s allowed?”

 

“You taught us to defend ourselves.”

 

“Well, yes, that,” he waved at the sword scabbard attached to her belt. “You clearly know how to use a sword. Why would a girl need to be a knight?”

 

“And this is why Ygraine didn’t want to talk to you.”

 

"Is Morgana's your mother? You sound just like her."

 

“Ew, no.” Argante shook her head. “Don’t even suggest that.” She laughed then took a step back. “Follow me,” she backed away from him, waving for him to come. He had to run after her. Before his eyes Argante became smaller, younger. Suddenly they were in the fields outside the lower town. “Papa!” Little Argante, maybe five years old, held out her arms. Dream Arthur laughed and picked her up.

 

            Arthur’s dreams continued in that vain, chasing a young daughter through the halls of Camelot. He didn’t see much of Ygraine and he had trouble remembering details once awake. He told no one about the revelation of his second dream.

 

            The only other vivid dream he experienced was months later.

            Arthur sat in the receiving chamber. Armored guards milled about but they had the dreamlike quality of not being real. He expected a boring dream but perked up when he heard familiar voices. “Why does the throne room look different?”

“Because this isn’t your dream, it’s Father’s.” His two daughters came into sight. Argante resplendent in a dark blue silk gown, hair tied back, and golden beads draped across her forehead. Ygraine was out of armor for once, instead she wore a dress of Camelot red with gold trim, official cape tied about her neck, princess’ circlet half hidden under her short locks.

 

            Ygraine and Arthur made eye contact briefly before she made to turn away. “Come on,” Argante caught her arm. “At least say hello.” With a put upon sigh, Ygraine allowed her sister to lead her before the throne. Arthur grinned as both girls gave small bows. “Father,” Argante met his smile.

 

“Ygraine and Argante,” Arthur said their names just because he could. “You’re wearing a dress,” he smiled at his elder daughter. Ygraine looked contrite and reached for her boot. She pulled a dagger from her shoe and stabbed herself in the neck with it.

Argante sighed and shook her head. “Must you antagonize her?”

 

“I was trying to be polite, don’t women like compliments?” Arthur said indignantly.

 

“Oh, Father, you’re hopeless,” Argante laughed.

 

“I won over your mother didn’t I?”

 

“With much assistance I’m sure.” Argante was clearly teasing so Arthur allowed it.

 

            “It’s just you and your sister? I don't have a son?"

 

"No."

 

"Why?"

 

"You won't like the answer," Argante warned. Arthur gave her a look so she shrugged and continued. "There was a prophecy that if you had a son he would kill you and bring about the ruin of Camelot. So our parent chose not to take chances and used magic to make sure we were both girls."

 

"Magic? That's treason!"

 

Argante seemed unfazed by this. "You're assuming that the laws will be the same when we're born."

 

"Why wouldn't they be?"

 

"No reason," rather infuriately, Argante humored him and suddenly found the nearby candle sconce fascinating. “Is this iron?” She actually walked over to it. “In our home they’re all bronze.” Before Arthur could comment on her avoidance the dream shifted to a field of grain and he saw no more of his girls that night.

 

++

Merlin dreamed of woods often so on his 18th birthday it took him a few minutes to realize the trees around him were unfamiliar. When he listened he could hear laughter and music on the summer breeze. He followed the tantalizing sounds until he reached a lake. A cloud of insects hung in an unusually shaped cloud above the water. At a note from a flute the bugs rearranged themselves, prompting laughter from two children. A girl in a blue dress laughed as she stood on the shore, flute in hand. 

 

"Do it again," she ordered her companion. A taller child in a red shirt and brown pants cleared his throat then trilled. At his call, fish and frogs leapt from the water. The children laughed at the display then preformed a song together. 

 

Merlin watched the animals dance and the light in the forest shift as if changing seasons. He could feel power laced into the song. There were words he couldn’t understand but they trembled with magic. The voice changed slightly and when he looked back at the children they were older. The signer still wore trousers but now had breasts under her tunic. The cheerful girl had become an elegant teenager, her dress finer tailoring than anyone could afford in Ealdor, and her raven black hair tied back in a bun.

Their song ended and the girl in the dress smiled at her companion. "I wasn’t expecting that. You usually don’t sing spells.”

 

"I can't have you do all the work." The singer looked straight at Merlin, then. "Hello, Dad."

 

"You can see me?"

 

"Of course." Both girls advanced on him and caught him in a group hug.

 

"You're so tiny," the singer was surprisingly bulky for a girl and squeezed Merlin in a bone-crushing hold until he started to squirm.

 

"Ygraine," the smaller girl sighed at her sister's antics. When Merlin looked for it, they both had his hair color, although Argante's appeared to be a finer texture. When Merlin was finally released the other girl introduced herself. "This is the first time you're dreaming of us. My name's Argante. Ygraine is my elder sister."

 

"I'm going to know you both?" Merlin had to ask. He wanted to be there for his kids but after growing up without his own father he didn't want to assume.

 

"Of course." Ygraine nodded.

 

"It's not Grandfather's fault he couldn't be there for you," Argante touched his arm reassuringly. 

 

"Where are we?" Merlin changed the topic.

 

"Someplace that will come to mean a lot to you. We can't say more than that," Argante answered. 

 

            “Don’t pout, Dad!” Ygraine noticed this made him gloomy and wrapped a muscled arm around his shoulder. “We have to get you into fighting shape.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’ve got a big future ahead of you. And if you think we’re going to leave you unprepared.” She maneuvered him towards the lake. Merlin glanced to Argante for help but she just smiled.

 

 

Post episode 4

After seeing the blue light in the cave and meeting a sorceress who claimed she didn’t want to kill him yet left him to eaten by spiders, Arthur needed to ask some questions. He commissioned a brew from Gaius, with instructions to tell no one. Once back in his chambers with the doors locked he downed the mushroom concoction and listened for voices.

_“I’m just saying, if I ever find I man I’ll want him to think of me with his last breath like that.”_

_“You’ll have poisoned him yourself.”_

 

“Argante? Ygraine?”

_“Father’s listening in.”_

_“I’m leaving.”_

 

"Wait, it's important."

_"Fine, ask."_

 

"You're from my future, what do you know of magic?"

_"Plenty, what about it?"_

 

"Is it evil?"

_"Of course not."_ Ygraine snorted.

 

" _Magic is as beautiful as life or as terrifying as death_ ," Argante said, Ygraine continued,

_"You wouldn't hand out swords and crossbows to farmers. They'd slaughter each other within a day. Magic's the same way."_

 

"It's not corrupting?"

_"Give a crossbow to someone who's never seen one before he'll go power hungry and abuse it,"_ Ygraine said dismissively.

 

"Then why is my father so against it?"

_"Because of one inept sorceress."_ Argante's words were icy.

_"But don't take our word for it. Ask Gaius about Nimueh, your mother, and don't take no for an answer."_

 

"Gaius?"

_"Very little happens in Camelot that Gaius doesn't know about."_

_"Of course, he'll try to deflect like a siege tower."_ Ygraine's last words faded as reality came back into focus.

 

            That night Arthur dreamed of his daughters. He recognized a room in the royal quarters of the castle where Argante sat playing with dolls. Argante was young this time, no older than four. For a minute all was silent then Ygraine burst in from a side door. She wore a wool tunic made to look like chainmail and carried a play sword and shield. “Seal the gates!” She shut the door behind her. “The draw bridge is closed.” She was clearly narrating a little imaginary scene which made Arthur smile to himself.

 

“Fight me.” Ygraine pranced around her sister but quickly grew bored with being ignored. “Fight me.” She smacked her lightly with her wooden weapon.

 

“Stop it,” Argante whined. Ygraine just giggled and pocked her in the ribs. “Stop it!” This time Argante’s eyes flashed gold when she shouted and Ygraine’s sword went flying. Arthur was horrified but Ygraine seemed pleased.

 

“Return to me,” she grinned and held out a hand towards her lost sword. “Return to me!” She demanded again and this time her tiny sword sailed across the room. “Hah!” She proudly held her retrieved weapon aloft then returned to poking her sister.

 

“No! Papa!” Argante screamed and ran out of the room.

 

 

Ep 10

“You never said, where’d you learn to fight,” Arthur tried to make friendly conversation. Unlike the other villagers Merlin had a grasp of basic swordwork.

“In my dream’s actually,” Merlin managed a small smile while Arthur helped him buckle his armor. “My daughter taught me.”

 

“Your daughter?” Arthur repeated.

 

“Arthur, whatever happens today, please don’t think any differently of me,” Merlin tried to move on to his confession.

 

“What’s her name?”

 

“Who?”

 

“Your daughter, Merlin.”

 

“Oh, Ygraine.” Arthur went freightingly still. “Arthur?”

 

“You have a daughter, named Ygraine, who taught you how to use a sword.” Arthur stared at him without really seeing anything.

 

“Arthur?” Merlin asked with concern, which only grew when the prince started laughing hysterically.

 

            Whatever else might have been said was interrupted by the arrival of the bandits. At the end of the battle, Merlin summoned a whirlwind to finish off the raiders. Arthur watched the conjured wind, based on where it formed it could only be either Merlin or his village friend Will. And well, the daughters with glowing eyes suddenly made sense.

 

“Merlin!” He stormed over to the manservant/sorcerer. Merlin turned to look at him only to be hit hard in the side of the head. “It’s your fault I won’t have a son.”

 

“Wha?” Merlin was deeply confused. Arthur couldn’t yell at him more because Will was shot.

 

            “Can’t you,” Arthur reached for words. “Magic him better?”

 

“I’m the sorcerer,” Will said.

 

“Two sorcerers in one village?” Arthur gave Merlin a pointed look.

 

“I don’t know,” Merlin admitted.

 

“Then try,” Arthur said then chased the other villagers away so Merlin could work.

 

On the ride back to Camelot Arthur and Merlin couldn’t stop sneaking glances at each other.

 

“So…Ygraine?”

 

“Ygraine was my mother’s name, Merlin.”

 

“Oh.”

_“Just admit it, he’s cute.”_ Argante’s voice made them both jump.

_“Sister, be nice, this is new to them.”_ Arthur and Merlin shared a look, confirming that they were hearing the same thing.

_“Ygraine, I’m surprised, you’ve been so hard on Father…”_  
  


_“I blame Father for being a sexist ass I don’t blame him for having reservations about Dad.”_ Merlin tried to hide his blush and kicked his horse to go a bit faster. Arthur watched him go with a smirk.

 

 

Episode 11

Arthur returned to his chambers after overseeing yet another count of the storehouses, and then rolled his eyes when he found Merlin reading a magic-looking tome. "You're that eager to be executed?"

 

"It’s fine. This one's from the library."

 

"Then what are you doing?"

 

"Looking up Unicorn lore."

 

"Does it say anything about Ahmora?"

 

"No, but it does say whoever kills one will be cursed."

 

"I couldn't know that."

 

"I told you not to."

 

"Only after I shot it, not very helpful, Merlin."

 

"You shouldn't have killed it in the first place."

 

"I couldn't tell it was a unicorn. I only saw its back half." Instead of pacifying him, it made him contrite.

 

"So you shot something you didn't know what it was?"

 

"Didn't know it was going to curse me. And who are you to lecture me about caution?"

 

"You could have at least said, sorry."

 

"With all the other knights watching? Was I supposed to cry over it like a girl."

 

"Maybe, I don't know."

 

After the whole debacle Merlin came back to the room to find Arthur with the book he'd been reading earlier. He was pleased at first, finally the idiot prince would know not to poke magical beasts but the glee was quickly replaced by dread when he noticed Arthur's grin. 

 

“You’re a virgin.”

 

“Uh.”

 

 

Episode 12

            “They couldn’t have known he was a sorcerer.”

 

“These men make their living offering food and shelter to strangers, you’d execute them for doing their jobs?” Morgana was in a fury over Uther wanting to execute townsfolk.

 

“And the blacksmith?”  


“We found no weapons at his forge. According to the blacksmith Torin paid him to heat and pour lead and then turned it to gold,” Arthur slid the oddly shaped lump of gold across the table. “He was going to alert the guard to what he’d witnessed but we arrested him before he could,” Arthur added the last bit.

 

“So he’s innocent,” Morgana said again. “Sorcerers are masters of disguise. You yourself have let assassins into the citadel. How can you expect these men to recognize someone they’d never seen?” Morgana insisted. Arthur thought the insult to the king’s pride might be a bit much but she had a point.

 

“I’m not saying we should let them go unpunished, but treason…” Arthur tried a different approach.

 

“Consorting with sorcerers,”

 

“Against their knowledge!” Morgana interrupted.

 

“You believe these men to be truthful?” Uther asked.

 

“Yes, Sire.” Arthur answered and held the king’s gaze.

 

            The men were flogged for their carelessness but were returned to their homes within the fortnight. Morgana argued even that was too harsh but Arthur kept silent, knowing when to cut his losses.

 

 

Episode 13

            There was a Questing Beast in the woods outside Camelot and of course Arthur and the knights had been tasked with killing it. And, because everything in the world was out to kill him, Arthur was bitten.

 

Merlin turned to another page of his grimore. **To Strengthen the Voices of Beyond.** He said the spell then shouted to his daughters. “Tell me what to do!”

_“For one thing, don’t wander into a monster lair. Wait at the cave mouth for it to come out. And if you must go in, don’t split up.”_

_“No, they needed to do that so Dad could use his magic.”_

_“Oh, right.”_

 

“Help me. If Arthur dies you won’t be born!”

_“Sorry, but I’d call a unicorn or Aithusa, nothing you can do at this time.”_

_“I can’t tell you the answer to this one, Dad. You’re going to have to ask Kilgharrah,”_ Argante sounded apologetic. Merlin shut out his daughters’ voices and ran for the caves.

 

            Merlin went to Nimueh and traded his life for Arthur’s. Only after Arthur received the antidote did he whisper, “I’m sorry,” to the children he’d never meet. Ygraine and Argante remained eerily quiet. Merlin got ready for bed expecting to die in his sleep. He hadn’t said goodbye to Arthur. He was probably resting, only essential servants were allowed into his rooms, and that was all excuses for Merlin being too cowardly to say goodbye.

_“Sleep well,”_ he head Argante say right before he went to sleep.

 

            To his immense surprise, he awoke the next morning. Only to find something worse than his own death. Hunnith had somehow arrived in Camelot last night, gravely ill and dying. Nimueh and the dragon had lied and now Merlin had to set things right. This time he worked up the courage to speak to Arthur.

 

            “Ah Merlin,” Arthur smiled when Merlin entered his chambers. “I thought you were avoiding me.”

 

“How are you?”

 

“Good.”

 

“I’m pleased.”

 

“A bit more than that I’d hope.” Arthur said in good humor and sat by the fire. “So who do I thank, you or Gaius?”

 

“Gaius.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“We need to talk.”

 

“You still don’t get it do you, I decide when we talk.”

 

“Not today,” Merlin said. Arthur looked at him questioningly.

 

"I sometimes wonder if you know who I am."  

 

"Oh, I know who you are.”

 

"Good."  

 

"You're a prat. And a royal one." Arthur should have expected that answer.  

 

"Are you ever going to change, Merlin?"  

 

"No, you'd get bored." Merlin smiled Arthur grinned in agreement and rubbed at his injured shoulder. "But promise me this: if you get another servant, don't get a boot licker."  

 

"If this is you trying to quit job..."  

 

"No. I'm happy to be your servant, 'til the day I die." Something in Merlin’s tone gave Arthur pause.

 

"Sometimes I think I know you, Merlin. Other times…"  

 

"Well, I know you. You're a great warrior. One day, you'll be a great king."

 

"That's very kind of you."  

 

"But you must learn to listen as well as you fight,"

 

"Any other pointers?"  

 

"No. That's it, just... Don't be a prat."

 

Merlin turned to leave. _“Don’t let him go.”_ The words were quiet as if spoken from far away but made the already suspicious prince frown.

 

“Merlin.” He glared at Merlin’s frozen back.

_“Argante, why are you meddling?”_

_“Because it’s easier this way. What’s the point of having magic if I can’t even use it to ensure that we’re born?”_

 

“Something you want to tell me?”

 

“Uh…” Merlin tried not to look guilty while Arthur shot eye daggers at him. He mentally tried to shoo away the voices.

 

“Oh really? Go on Argante, where’s your mother trying to sneak off to?”

_“To meet Nimueh.”_

 

“What?” That had Arthur leaping to his feet.

 

“Arthur it’s not what you think.” Merlin tried to palcitate him and keep him from hurting his shoulder.

_“Let him talk to her, Dad. He deserves that much.”_

_“Beside you heard her, she won’t hurt him.”_ The girls’ voices trailed off. Merlin swallowed guiltily while Arthur, who although shorter than him, somehow managed to tower over him and glower.

++

            “Stop!” Merlin ran towards the alter where Nimueh stood.

 

“Back again so soon, Warlock?”

 

“What have you done?”

 

“Your mother is safe, isn’t that what you wanted?

 

“Have you killed him?”

 

“It was his wish.”

 

“I bid my life for Arthur’s not my mother’s not Gaius’!”

 

“The old religion doesn’t care who lives and who dies only that the balance of the world is restored.”

  
“Is that what you told my mother?” Arthur stepped out from the doorway.

 

            Nimueh let out a surprised huff. “Prince Arthur Pendragon. You come here, to the heart of the Old Religion?”

 

“To face the woman who murdered my mother, I’d go anywhere.”

 

“I did not!” Nimueh lost her cool for a second. “I did not know. Gaius and your parents begged me for an heir. I warned them there would be a price. A price that not even I could predict.” She continued to circle the two young men. “Atonement for your mother is why you will not die by my hand.”

 

“You didn’t know?” Arthur looked away and gave a quick bitter laugh. “That’s why my mother died? Why my father hates magic? Because you tried to wield a weapon you didn’t understand?”

 

“The Old Religion demands payment.”

 

“It’s not the old religion that has done this, it is you!” Merlin interrupted.

 

            “Come now, we’re too valuable to each other to be enemies.” She ignored Arthur and spoke to Merlin. “With my help Arthur will become king.”  


“I will make Arthur king! But you will not live to see that day.” Merlin raised his hand and shot fire at her. While the magic users threw fire at each other Arthur drew his sword and circled around to attack Nimueh from behind. He landed a blow that cut her dress but not her skin. She knocked him aside even angrier than before. Arthur landed on his injured shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon in pain.

 

            Whatever fury Nimueh possessed paled in comparison to Merlin’s. Calling upon the magic inside him, and by extension, to nature itself, he pulled lightning from the sky to strike Nimueh dead.

 

“What was that?” Arthur sat up. Merlin ignored him and ran to Gaius.

 

            Gaius was miraculously not dead and Merlin hugged him.

 

“Sire?” Gaius finally noticed Arthur’s presence.

 

“Forgot to mention something, Merlin?” Arthur teased while using his one good hand to leverage himself to a standing position.

 

“Um…he knows.”

 

“Oh really?” Gaius didn’t sound particularly enthused.

 

            Merlin and Arthur helped Gaius to his feet. The physician leaned on Merlin as they began to walk but Arthur took a final look around.

 

“What’s this?” Arthur picked up the cup of life.

 

“I don’t think you should touch that, Sire.”

“It’s that powerful and you want to leave it here?” Arthur looked incredulously at the crumbling ruins around them.

 

“We can’t take it back to Camelot.”

 

“But we could hide it somewhere,” Merlin considered. “So no one like Nimeh can misuse it again.” With that decided, Arthur nodded in agreement and picked up the cup, after dumping the water out onto the grass.

 

            On the way back to Camelot they wrapped the Cup of Life in burlap and buried it at the base of an old oak tree. They traveled at an easier pace for their injuries now that no life hung in the balance, meaning it was the next morning before the citadel came into view.

 

            They’d been gone for a day so they were quickly greeted and hurried to the throne room to meet the King.

 

“Where have you been?” Uther was worried and furious but Arthur had already come up with an answer.

 

“I wanted some air, Merlin and Gaius insisted on coming along to make sure I didn’t overwork my shoulder. We were just outside of Camelot when we encountered someone. Nimueh.”

 

“You fought the sorceress?”

 

“I don’t know about, fight. She attacked Gaius and Merlin, as you can see,” he nodded to the slightly scorched servant and exhausted physician. “But she refused to harm me.”

 

“Sire,” Gaius made as if to interrupt but tripped over his own feet and Merlin caught him.

 

“Your majesty, please, Gaius needs to rest,” Merlin spoke up. Uther nodded and waved them away.

 

After tending to Gaius and his mother, Merlin went to Arthur’s rooms. Arthur stayed silent when he entered then after a few seconds said, “It didn’t have to be my mother. First your mother, then Gaius then Nimueh. It could have been anyone.”

 

“I’m sorry, Arthur.”

 

“No, it’s alright.” Arthur finally looked at him. “I needed to know where I came from. That I was born of magic.”

++

“You know.” Arthur stared at Merlin as he tidied the room. “If it wasn’t for the girls,” he waved at his head to indicate Ygraine and Argante. “I don’t think I’d be interested in you.”

_“Oh definitely not.”_

_“Argante’s just a meddling bitch that way.”_

 

“I don’t know, I think I could have won you over eventually,” Merlin teased.

 

“Keep telling yourself that.”

_“It’s a self-sustaining paradox. As long as I exist, I can use my magic to talk to you and as long as I can talk to you, I exist.”_

_“We, I have magic too, sis.”_

_“Go on then, talk to them without my help.”_

 

The girls were silent the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't give them a son because his name would have to be Mordred and that doesn't work in the TV alternate universe.
> 
> I went with the fancier spelling of Igraine. According to Wikipedia in 1150 Argante is the name of an elfin queen of Avalon.


End file.
